Working with your Public/Media Relations office: A primer for researchers

Editor’s note:As I video-blogged last week, our post on why scientists should blog got bounced around the web a good bit and resulted in a number of generous mentions on other blogs (check the trackbacks to view). Among these mentions was Andrew Careaga’s Higher Ed Marketing blog, a wonderful resource on all matters related to marketing and public relations in higher education. After a brief exchange via Twitter, Andrew graciously agreed to provide a post for Science of Blogging on how researchers can work with the public relations or media department at their host institution to get their research across to a wider audience. As the first official guest contributor on Science of Blogging, here’s Andrew.

* * *

Peter’s excellent case study on why scientists should blog led me to share my perspective on this subject. As a public relations/communications professional working in higher education, I think it’s fantastic that Peter shares his ideas by blogging. I wish more researchers would follow his lead. Frankly, it would make the media relations aspects of my job easier and probably more enjoyable.

The way I see it, researchers who blog about their work provide a public service. They’re sharing their knowledge with a broader audience than the readership of scientific or academic journals. (A very good Tufts University feature about academics who blog illustrates the value from their perspective.) And by responding to blog comments and exchanging ideas with other bloggers (as I’m doing here), researchers are able to interact with people beyond their disciplines.

Ideally, the media relations folks on college campuses are valuable partners for scholar-bloggers who want to get their research ideas out to the public. PR folks should not serve as personal publicists for certain faculty members – although most of us in the PR field know of a few professors who would love it if that were the case. Rather, we are partners in disseminating scholarship. We can do so not only by publicizing faculty research, but also by talking about the researchers’ own public-service blogging, and by pointing journalists and others to the researchers’ own blogging efforts.

So, how can researchers work with media relations staff? Here are a few suggestions.

Let us know you’re out there. We know you’re busy with research, teaching and other scholarly pursuits to think much about media relations. We’re busy, too. We don’t always have the time to search out every research project under way on our campuses. So don’t be bashful about contacting us if you are working on a project that you think might be of news value. Usually, if we find out about a research project and think it might have news value, we’ll contact the researcher. But we don’t always know where to look, and we too are pressed for time. A brief email about your project to your media relations office may open up new opportunities.

Pitch us your (timely) ideas. We want to know about your research. Sometimes, however, we don’t find out about your latest research until it’s no longer timely. News is news when it’s new. So if you know that a research paper has been accepted for publication, please let your media relations department know in advance. Once the research has been published, media interest wanes. That’s just the nature of the beast.

Understand our role – and the news media’s needs. A media relations office serves as a go-between for journalists and the institution – its faculty, staff and administration. As such, media relations people must understand and advocate for the interests of news outlets. What journalists find interesting and what university faculty or administrators think is important don’t always coincide. Understand that if a media relations staffer doesn’t act on your pitch, it may be because in that staffer’s judgment, there’s no story there. A good media relations person will explain that to you. But if your pitch to media relations goes unanswered, don’t be afraid to follow up and ask why.

If you blog, let us know. Media relations staffers often act like journalists, always sniffing around for a story idea. If you have a blog, let us know so we can take a peek. It may be that some of your posts contain newsworthy ideas that could be explored.

You can ask people around you about the local locksmith to know kind of services and
thee experience they had working with him, this way you can have a firsthand review from
the satisfied and unsatisfied clients to help you decide easily.
Individuals sreking to do their own work need to indivijdually qualify.
Simply cut the tip of the tube and slide it into the
lock, carefully squeezing just a small amount into the lock.

Plumber licensing requirements vary from state to state and some states delineate between levels of plumbing expertise by correlating yeads of experience with
various licensing levels. * Eliminate odors caused
by food particles in your disposal by running it every
time you put anything into it. For instance you
keep trying to reset a toilet, annd can not get it to stop leaking.

In the absence of the insurance policy, the person who is hiring the services iis
responsible for the electrician working for him. It is better to
get problems resolved before it is too late. Many peole are earning handsome salaries from these jobs since there are plenty in number and thhe Bakken boom has got many people wanting to
work there.

Closely study the appraisals promoted in the
media, online paid ads or other sources of information.
Football has become an exceptionally popular sports within the past decades, which has to be mostly attributed to its great fans
and supporters. Keeping track of the draft picks and
the makeup of each team’s roster is a highly useful technique
but seldom used in fantasy football.

It goes without saying there are dozens of guitars that
look nothing alike too. The lighter weight of the guitar allows a beginner to becomne accustomed to the weight of the guitar whilee tbey learn.
It allows you to use up to four stereo audio tracks and 16
MIDI tracks at once, which means you can record several guitar
tracks and then fill in the rest of the song
with any ssort of MIDI arrangement that you’d like.

These EMIs are Equated Monthly Installments which basically means that every payment is the same and
the entire length of the loan is based on the
same exact interest rate. Therefore, it is advisable to put at least 20% down on ylur mortgage.
You can complete your application riight online as well at a secure
site and then wait for the approval, which will not take long.

In fact, there are some simple reasons why you should go down
this path, instead of trying to do it all on your own.
If your inside sales staff is making the cold calls, they may
decide to close the deal after that, transfer the call to a closing agent, or arrange
for a time for a meeting. In the current economic climate, businesses are evaluating budgets and looking for ways to improve efficiency
and save money.

Most said their weight loss did not slow down as much. Slowly introduce sugars in moderate quantities
back into your diet. “Looking at ASAPS statistics, the big push in Aesthetic Medicine over the last ten years is progressively heading towards more and more less invasive treatments.

items in their own particular view are clearly the
actual ones which they will. bad preparation before or after your tan, or your
skin acting up. IMPORTANT: Make sure you are purchasing UV protective clothing that
is put together and manufactured with strict AAD guidelines,
you don.

You need to get your boxes early but be aware that even flat
they take up a lot of space. One of the most important items to have for those who regularly maintain their grass is a lawnmower.
People love to relocate to this place, as there are ample of opportunities for a person in Virginia.

Houseboats in Echuca are ideal houseboats which have
the accommodations that allow you to relax and explore the lake with all the
comforts of any regular home. Be sure to go with fresh bait, and stay away from the
baits that are based on chicken or cat food.
Revealed in my unique readymade bait and homemade bait carp and catfish bait secrets ebooks is far more powerful information look up
my unique website (Baitbigfish) and see my biography below for
details of my ebooks deals right now.

Just re-cover the counter with a new laminate sheet.
How do shooting is getting worse, falls into folds and the chin line to create an area of the jaw, jaw lines, marionette.
Some are dissatisfied with their natural noses,
some have incurred injuries to their noses, and
some do not like how aging has changed their noses.

Horsetail-stimulates growth, helps reduce dandruff.
The Hair Regrowth Treatment makes easy or simple for everyone to get hair again. Many people take biotin supplements after weight loss surgery, hoping that will prevent hair loss, but the Linus Pauling Institute
website states there is no evidence at all that taking extra
biotin will prevent hair loss or make hair grow back faster.

Even frequent blow-drying at extreme heat or brushing obsessively can cause your hair to become extremely fragile
causing it to break and fall out. Eventually this can cause hair
thinning or patches of bald spots. However, pulling on a scab that was
adherent to the skin usually dislodged the graft –
often several days after pulling on a hair was safe.

certainly like your web site however you have to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very troublesome to tell the reality however I’ll surely come again again.

Subscribe

Mission

Social media provides a tremendous outlet by which to translate and promote scientific knowledge and engage the public discourse. All scientists, researchers, clinicians, government and not-for-profit organizations have much to gain by adopting an effective and viable social media strategy.

Science of Blogging will not only highlight the ways by which social media is changing the way science and research is communicated, but also will provide basic guidelines for those individuals or organizations who seek to use social media to increase the public understanding of scientific research.